Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1887-02-11
EARLY. low Al PEOPLE.


been communing with the departed
spirits Of the Indian dead who once
roamed over his hunting ground. He
relates that one time, back in the'3O's,
Iowa was the hunting ground, with
Others, of the Sax, Fox and Iowa tribes
OF Indians. The latter, at one time,
was a very powerful tribe; brave and
resolute in many undertakings OF
warfare against the Sioux and
Osages. They early made a good
reputation, and are mentioned with
praise by Lewis and Clarke. the
early explorers. That they were OF a
migratory character more than COM
mon to the aborigines of that day is
shown by the fact that about sixteen
removals were made by them. They
first came down the Mississippi river
to Des Moines, and there many viii ages
were found III what now constitute
thecounties OF Van Buren,, Davis and
Wapello. Thence they went to Dakota
then back to Nebraska, and had their
final camp in Iowa in the Grand river
country-in Wayne, Clarke and Lucas
counties. The Iowas were divided in
eight leading clans each bearing the
badge of some animal or Bird and
each clan had it's own peculiar manner
of cutting thehair. Thus: the eagle clan
wore two locks of hair on the front
part OF the head and long tail be-
III ho n
have shown many of the fashions
that have been seen on the heads OF
white women since that day. Some
of the Jealous Indians called them
''Dusty Noses" because they camped
on sandbars and often scrubbed their
bodies clearly with sand. At an early
day the 1owas were once invited to a
dog feast by wandering band Of the
I Sioux. Man-haw-gaw was the leading
Iowa chief and between the dog feast
aud the pow WOW the Sioux killed
him. Ever after it was a bloody time
when an Iowa could get at the Sioux.
The Osages joined with the Sioux and
they had to take their wolloping
whenever it was handy. These abor-
iginal cocks OF the walk were the tribe
which gave birth, home and room to
fight to the great family of Mahaska!
Man-haw-gaw was the paternal an
cestor of Mahaska the elder. The
name properly spelled is Ma.has-kah
and means White Cloud.
That Ma has-ka was q brave man
is shown from the fact that he had
seven wives! He never applied for O.
divorce from any OF them, hut it was
the gossip about camp that occasion.
ally one would go down to the Des
Moines river to battle, and would be
| found quite dead the next morning.
This necessitated the chief to bring in
another one to hold his number up to
! the golden seven. That he lived with
seven wives shows him to have been a
| master hand at management. No
man to-day could do that. One is
! about all that the wisest and best Of
know from observation. His bravery
| was not confined alone to living with
seven wives. He was always at the
head OF the Iowa war parties, and at
! his belt dangled very many scalrs of
the Sioux and Osages. In 1924 he went
! to Washington and visited President
| Monroe, and upon his return he took
himself to the ways of peace, built q
double log cabin, and lived in COM
fort. In 1888 some OF his men were
| connected with a killing scrape, ard
! General Clarke ordered that they be
arrested. Ma-f4s-kah having adopted
peaceful ways, said that it should be
done, and assisted in the arrest of the
men and sent them to Ft. Leaven-
worth. There one OF them threaten
ed to kill him when he got out This
Indian made his escape, and during
the fall of 1884 he found Ma-has-kah
camped on the Nodaway in the south
ern corner OF Cass county, and there
murdered him in q very cowardly
manner. At about fifty years OF age
this great Chief the winner Of eighteen
battles, ended his career. His death
caused a great mourning in his
village. His seven wives went into
mourning and poverty, and one Of
| them-who bore the name of Female
deer that. bounds over the prairies-
refused ever afterward to be comfort.
ed. The assassin of Ma-has-kah took
refuge with the Otocs, but as they did
not want to- mix in the coming war,
they killed him aad sent his scalp to
the lowas. An accomplish was also
executed by the Iowas. In speaking of
Ma-has-kah's death, the braves said:
I 1.-THE greatest man who ever made a.
moccasin track in the Nodaway valley
has gone to che happy hunting
! grounds" Ponies and dogs without
number were slain in memento Mort.
Ma-has-kah was full six feet two inches
in height, OF great physical strength and
much manly beauty. On his death
| his son was promoted to the COM
lnand Of the Iowas. Whether it was
by civil service examination or PERM
cious activity, or because he was zone
OF the boys" the records do not say.
At all events he "got there" and
staid there. He was considered much
OF a dude in his day. In 1857 he
went to Washington, asking for re-
| dress of some OF the many grievances
inflicted upon his people by the whites,
but beyond having a .pow-wow with
the authorities nothing was done.
The old habit OF robbing and wrong
ing the Indian was then in vogue
coming down from the cheating dicker
under the elns at Philadelphia to that
day, and with some changes on to the
present time. The younger Ma-has.
kah got into the white mans ways,
and good dea! of white mans whis-
Ky got into him, with the usual result.
AT the age of So, we have him with.
one eye knocked out and three wives.
He could notlast long underthese con-
ditions, and we drop the historians
veil over him. Among the seven
wives of the elder Ma-has-kah, Rant
che-wai-me, o the Female Flying
p;ooo,, !, Of } 4 hia u,;vaa har ,acora